Photo by: Andy Schlichting
Tuesday Press Conference Quotes
October 01, 2019 | Football
                                                                          Â
               Colorado Head Coach Mel Tucker
ÂÂ
Opening Statement
"I'm just really looking forward to a home game and looking forward to seeing our guys get back out there. Coming off the bye, they've had a couple good days of practice so far, and our players seem to be really into it and really focused. There's just a lot of work and preparation that needs to take place between now and then [Saturday]. But we're moving in the right direction for this weekend and I'm encouraged by what I see so far."
Â
On Facing An Offense Similar To Air ForceÂ
"In terms of option responsibility, it's very similar. We have to play assignment football, make sure that guys do their jobs, be disciplined. They give you a lot of different looks. They do a great job from a scheme standpoint, they put pressure on a lot of guys. Everyone's at the point of attack versus this offense and they can be very explosive."
Â
On How Arizona's Offense Is Similar To When Baker Mayfield Was At OklahomaÂ
"It's very similar in some of the schemes they run. They get spread out, get a lot of one on ones, a lot of run after the catch. They also do a good job running the football in terms of they keep you honest and they're not afraid to take shots down the field. Their quarterbacks are mobile and can make plays with their feet. We'll certainly have to be at our best."
Â
On Khalil Tate
"He's a very explosive player. When you have a player like that, that can throw the ball down the field and be accurate in the pocket, but can also take off and make plays with his feet, it puts a lot of pressure on your defense, and we have to do a really good job with our pass rush lines. And obviously, like we talked about earlier, option responsibilities and things like that and so we have to be very, very sharp.
Â
On If He Watches Other PAC-12 Games Or Just Focuses On Game Film
"I do both, I even picked up a JV football game Saturday morning. I like to watch ball and I'll flip through the channels. You know, that's a great thing about being in the air conditioning with the flat screen and the cable and the remote, you can see a lot of games. That's why you play the game, you never know what's going to happen on any given Saturday. College football is really exciting right now. There's a lot of teams still in it, in the hunt, and we just have to really focus in on what we have to do."
Â
On What He Sees From Arizona's Defense
"They're very active, they're aggressive. They have no problem pressuring you on any down or distance. They mix up the looks, mix up the fronts. They're really good coaches over there, they got a good scheme, good players. And they're definitely an attacking, ball hawking group of guys."
Â
On If Khalil Tate Reminds Him Of Anyone He Has Previously Coached Against
"I can't say for certain, but I know that he's a unique player. His [Pro Football Focus] numbers are really high, he's a big time player, he can do it all. You don't see guys like that every week. He's definitely one of those guys you call a game wrecker, he can wreck the game. He's one of those guys that can take over a game and we just need to limit the explosiveness and try to contain him as best as we can."
Â
On What Has Allowed The Defense To Give Up Big Plays PreviouslyÂ
"It's more for us about execution and communication on our part. Obviously, the offense is doing a good job with shifts and motions and a really good scheme and a good design, but everything we do is sound and solid. And so if we execute, which we should be able to do, we should be in a position to make plays. When we're not in the position to make a play on the ball, or fit a run, usually it's some type of error on our part."
Â
On What Has Allowed The Defense To Give Up Big Plays PreviouslyÂ
"It's more for us about execution and communication on our part. Obviously, the offense is doing a good job with shifts and motions and a really good scheme and a good design, but everything we do is sound and solid. And so if we execute, which we should be able to do, we should be in a position to make plays. When we're not in the position to make a play on the ball, or fit a run, usually it's some type of error on our part."
Â
On Players Who Have Stepped Up With All The Injuries Going On
"We've got some guys that are day to day, so we'll see how it goes. There's really no substitute for playing time in actual games. You can try to prepare them as much as you can in practice and tell them 'hey, you're only one play away' It's a little different when they actually get out on the field and play for the first time. What I've seen from our guys, is that once they've gotten out there and they get a taste of it, then they have a different perspective when they come back to practice the next week. In terms, of 'okay, I know what it's all about, I've done it. Now, let me focus on getting better and really hone in.' You always talk about experience, right? And it's the best teacher. I love to see it, I love to see young guys play. It's exciting for me to see guys that haven't played get a chance to step up and get the job done. I think the more guys you play, the better morale you're going to have on your team. More guys have a role. Whatever that role is, whether it's offense, defense, or special teams, every role is significant."
"I'm just really looking forward to a home game and looking forward to seeing our guys get back out there. Coming off the bye, they've had a couple good days of practice so far, and our players seem to be really into it and really focused. There's just a lot of work and preparation that needs to take place between now and then [Saturday]. But we're moving in the right direction for this weekend and I'm encouraged by what I see so far."
Â
On Facing An Offense Similar To Air ForceÂ
"In terms of option responsibility, it's very similar. We have to play assignment football, make sure that guys do their jobs, be disciplined. They give you a lot of different looks. They do a great job from a scheme standpoint, they put pressure on a lot of guys. Everyone's at the point of attack versus this offense and they can be very explosive."
Â
On How Arizona's Offense Is Similar To When Baker Mayfield Was At OklahomaÂ
"It's very similar in some of the schemes they run. They get spread out, get a lot of one on ones, a lot of run after the catch. They also do a good job running the football in terms of they keep you honest and they're not afraid to take shots down the field. Their quarterbacks are mobile and can make plays with their feet. We'll certainly have to be at our best."
Â
On Khalil Tate
"He's a very explosive player. When you have a player like that, that can throw the ball down the field and be accurate in the pocket, but can also take off and make plays with his feet, it puts a lot of pressure on your defense, and we have to do a really good job with our pass rush lines. And obviously, like we talked about earlier, option responsibilities and things like that and so we have to be very, very sharp.
Â
On If He Watches Other PAC-12 Games Or Just Focuses On Game Film
"I do both, I even picked up a JV football game Saturday morning. I like to watch ball and I'll flip through the channels. You know, that's a great thing about being in the air conditioning with the flat screen and the cable and the remote, you can see a lot of games. That's why you play the game, you never know what's going to happen on any given Saturday. College football is really exciting right now. There's a lot of teams still in it, in the hunt, and we just have to really focus in on what we have to do."
Â
On What He Sees From Arizona's Defense
"They're very active, they're aggressive. They have no problem pressuring you on any down or distance. They mix up the looks, mix up the fronts. They're really good coaches over there, they got a good scheme, good players. And they're definitely an attacking, ball hawking group of guys."
Â
On If Khalil Tate Reminds Him Of Anyone He Has Previously Coached Against
"I can't say for certain, but I know that he's a unique player. His [Pro Football Focus] numbers are really high, he's a big time player, he can do it all. You don't see guys like that every week. He's definitely one of those guys you call a game wrecker, he can wreck the game. He's one of those guys that can take over a game and we just need to limit the explosiveness and try to contain him as best as we can."
Â
On What Has Allowed The Defense To Give Up Big Plays PreviouslyÂ
"It's more for us about execution and communication on our part. Obviously, the offense is doing a good job with shifts and motions and a really good scheme and a good design, but everything we do is sound and solid. And so if we execute, which we should be able to do, we should be in a position to make plays. When we're not in the position to make a play on the ball, or fit a run, usually it's some type of error on our part."
Â
On What Has Allowed The Defense To Give Up Big Plays PreviouslyÂ
"It's more for us about execution and communication on our part. Obviously, the offense is doing a good job with shifts and motions and a really good scheme and a good design, but everything we do is sound and solid. And so if we execute, which we should be able to do, we should be in a position to make plays. When we're not in the position to make a play on the ball, or fit a run, usually it's some type of error on our part."
Â
On Players Who Have Stepped Up With All The Injuries Going On
"We've got some guys that are day to day, so we'll see how it goes. There's really no substitute for playing time in actual games. You can try to prepare them as much as you can in practice and tell them 'hey, you're only one play away' It's a little different when they actually get out on the field and play for the first time. What I've seen from our guys, is that once they've gotten out there and they get a taste of it, then they have a different perspective when they come back to practice the next week. In terms, of 'okay, I know what it's all about, I've done it. Now, let me focus on getting better and really hone in.' You always talk about experience, right? And it's the best teacher. I love to see it, I love to see young guys play. It's exciting for me to see guys that haven't played get a chance to step up and get the job done. I think the more guys you play, the better morale you're going to have on your team. More guys have a role. Whatever that role is, whether it's offense, defense, or special teams, every role is significant."
Â
Â
Colorado Players
ÂSteven Montez, Sr., QB
ÂOn The Bye Week
"I definitely think that the bye week could not have come at a better time. We're getting some guys back healthy. We had some guys injured against Arizona State so hopefully we'll get them back. It's just a good time for everybody to get their minds right, get a little bit more time to spend focusing on Arizona, and just help our bodies heal and recover."
Â
On The Offensive Line Playing Well Against Arizona State
"Oh yeah, it's huge. Just not having to run out of the pocket and to move around scramble, and just being able to step up in the pocket. A lot of that in the past has been on me, just focusing on stepping up in the pocket. Coach Johnson and I have been doing a huge job of emphasizing, once I hit that third step in my drop, or whichever step in my drop, to get that initial slide back up into the pocket. It's not really a slide, Coach Johnson doesn't like to refer to it as a slide, he calls it a tap-tap, the initial step back up into the pocket. I think it helps out a lot so that the rushers have to rush all the way around instead of me running out of the pocket and giving them a shorter distance to get to me. It just makes a world of difference when they play that well. Zero sacks, that's just hard to do, especially at the level that we play at. All the credit goes to them, they played their butts off."
Â
On His Focus To Be Faster Against Arizona State
"I think we definitely had a better sense of urgency, especially from the start of the game. But going faster is kind of a double-edged sword, especially for me, because the faster we go, the more I tend to speed my feet up, which isn't what we want to do. We want to stay calm, but still have that sense of urgency. So, as long as we do that, I think we'll be in good shape. But yes, I definitely think we came out with a better sense of urgency on offense, just as a unit."
On Getting The Running Game Going Early Against Arizona
"It's very important, because once we get that running game going, then that will open up the pass game because we can do play action. It really keeps a defense on their heels, they don't really know what to expect, because if we're running the ball well, they'll want to load the box up, then we can just run play action over the top. I think it's definitely that the run game opens up the pass game, not really the other way around."
Â
On Wide Receiver Tony Brown
"Tony's been playing well since he got here. The time where he really opened my eyes and I was kind of like 'wow, he's going to do real big things for us this year', was this most recent fall camp. Tony and I probably hit a deep ball for a touchdown every day, it not every day then every other day. He was very consistent in fall camp and he was working hard and grinding, and nobody was really talking about him coming into the season, there wasn't really too much chatter about Tony Brown. But now, there should be chatter and rightfully so. He played really well against Arizona State, he had three touchdowns and I don't know how many yards he had, but he's just one of those guys that just does everything right. He blocks in the run game. he runs all the right routes, he doesn't miss any routes, he catches balls and doesn't drop them. He just plays extremely good, clean football."
Â
On If His Mentality Changes Knowing It Could Be A High Scoring Game Against Arizona
"My mentality every single drive that we get on that field, is to go out there and score. I want to score touchdowns, that's our goal that we go into each drive with. If it's a back and forth game, then we just have to score more touchdowns than they do. It's pretty plain and simple."
Â
On Playing For The First Place Spot In The Pac-12 South
"Obviously this game is extremely important because we want to go out there and win the game, but it's still super early in the season. This is just one of those things where it's like, we're only two games into Pac-12 play. So, it's not really a huge point that Arizona has been harping on all week, they haven't really said anything about that. To be honest, that was the first time I've heard that and we haven't really cared about it or thought about it. We're just going to go out there and play ball and play to win."
 "I definitely think that the bye week could not have come at a better time. We're getting some guys back healthy. We had some guys injured against Arizona State so hopefully we'll get them back. It's just a good time for everybody to get their minds right, get a little bit more time to spend focusing on Arizona, and just help our bodies heal and recover."
Â
On The Offensive Line Playing Well Against Arizona State
"Oh yeah, it's huge. Just not having to run out of the pocket and to move around scramble, and just being able to step up in the pocket. A lot of that in the past has been on me, just focusing on stepping up in the pocket. Coach Johnson and I have been doing a huge job of emphasizing, once I hit that third step in my drop, or whichever step in my drop, to get that initial slide back up into the pocket. It's not really a slide, Coach Johnson doesn't like to refer to it as a slide, he calls it a tap-tap, the initial step back up into the pocket. I think it helps out a lot so that the rushers have to rush all the way around instead of me running out of the pocket and giving them a shorter distance to get to me. It just makes a world of difference when they play that well. Zero sacks, that's just hard to do, especially at the level that we play at. All the credit goes to them, they played their butts off."
Â
On His Focus To Be Faster Against Arizona State
"I think we definitely had a better sense of urgency, especially from the start of the game. But going faster is kind of a double-edged sword, especially for me, because the faster we go, the more I tend to speed my feet up, which isn't what we want to do. We want to stay calm, but still have that sense of urgency. So, as long as we do that, I think we'll be in good shape. But yes, I definitely think we came out with a better sense of urgency on offense, just as a unit."
On Getting The Running Game Going Early Against Arizona
"It's very important, because once we get that running game going, then that will open up the pass game because we can do play action. It really keeps a defense on their heels, they don't really know what to expect, because if we're running the ball well, they'll want to load the box up, then we can just run play action over the top. I think it's definitely that the run game opens up the pass game, not really the other way around."
Â
On Wide Receiver Tony Brown
"Tony's been playing well since he got here. The time where he really opened my eyes and I was kind of like 'wow, he's going to do real big things for us this year', was this most recent fall camp. Tony and I probably hit a deep ball for a touchdown every day, it not every day then every other day. He was very consistent in fall camp and he was working hard and grinding, and nobody was really talking about him coming into the season, there wasn't really too much chatter about Tony Brown. But now, there should be chatter and rightfully so. He played really well against Arizona State, he had three touchdowns and I don't know how many yards he had, but he's just one of those guys that just does everything right. He blocks in the run game. he runs all the right routes, he doesn't miss any routes, he catches balls and doesn't drop them. He just plays extremely good, clean football."
Â
On If His Mentality Changes Knowing It Could Be A High Scoring Game Against Arizona
"My mentality every single drive that we get on that field, is to go out there and score. I want to score touchdowns, that's our goal that we go into each drive with. If it's a back and forth game, then we just have to score more touchdowns than they do. It's pretty plain and simple."
Â
On Playing For The First Place Spot In The Pac-12 South
"Obviously this game is extremely important because we want to go out there and win the game, but it's still super early in the season. This is just one of those things where it's like, we're only two games into Pac-12 play. So, it's not really a huge point that Arizona has been harping on all week, they haven't really said anything about that. To be honest, that was the first time I've heard that and we haven't really cared about it or thought about it. We're just going to go out there and play ball and play to win."
Â
Carson Wells, Soph., OLB
ÂOn The Bye Week
"We didn't want to see it as a week off, we just want to keep getting better. We had a couple guys dinged up, so the bye week helped us try to get them healthy as well. We just need to keep getting better and keep that mindset."
Â
On Preparing For Two Different Quarterbacks
"They definitely have two different styles, but we just need to know our assignments for each play and make sure to lock in and learn the little details."
Â
On Arizona's Offense
"They definitely have a lot of playmakers and they try to get the playmakers the ball in space. We need to be good at tackling in the open field and keep the yards after the catch to a minimum."
Â
On Containing Arizona's Quarterback Khalil Tate As A Spy
"He's good, but it will kind of be like a free sack. I don't really have to do much work if he steps up into the pocket. But yeah, we'll see how that goes."
                                                                          Â
On Setting The Edge On Defense Against Arizona's Offense
"We need to make sure to set hard edges because they have speed everywhere. We can't let them get out in the open field, it makes it harder on our defensive backs."
Â
On The Similarities Between Arizona And Air Force's Offense
"We spent a lot longer than a week preparing for Air Force. But yeah, it will definitely help us prepare for Arizona. We need to make sure no one is trying to be a hero. We all need to do our jobs on every play."
Â
On Facing Arizona's Quarterback Khalil Tate
"He's fast. I remember last year I had a play where, and I don't even know how he saw me, but I didn't get blocked on the right side and he just wheeled it out. I don't know how he saw me, but I had to take a good angle and somehow, I got him out of bounds. But yeah, he's crazy fast."
 "We didn't want to see it as a week off, we just want to keep getting better. We had a couple guys dinged up, so the bye week helped us try to get them healthy as well. We just need to keep getting better and keep that mindset."
Â
On Preparing For Two Different Quarterbacks
"They definitely have two different styles, but we just need to know our assignments for each play and make sure to lock in and learn the little details."
Â
On Arizona's Offense
"They definitely have a lot of playmakers and they try to get the playmakers the ball in space. We need to be good at tackling in the open field and keep the yards after the catch to a minimum."
Â
On Containing Arizona's Quarterback Khalil Tate As A Spy
"He's good, but it will kind of be like a free sack. I don't really have to do much work if he steps up into the pocket. But yeah, we'll see how that goes."
                                                                          Â
On Setting The Edge On Defense Against Arizona's Offense
"We need to make sure to set hard edges because they have speed everywhere. We can't let them get out in the open field, it makes it harder on our defensive backs."
Â
On The Similarities Between Arizona And Air Force's Offense
"We spent a lot longer than a week preparing for Air Force. But yeah, it will definitely help us prepare for Arizona. We need to make sure no one is trying to be a hero. We all need to do our jobs on every play."
Â
On Facing Arizona's Quarterback Khalil Tate
"He's fast. I remember last year I had a play where, and I don't even know how he saw me, but I didn't get blocked on the right side and he just wheeled it out. I don't know how he saw me, but I had to take a good angle and somehow, I got him out of bounds. But yeah, he's crazy fast."
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
 Â
Â
Â
Â
Players Mentioned
Mark Johnson, Gary Barnett and Andy Lindahl breakdown the win against Iowa State
Sunday, October 12
Mark Johnson & Gary Barnett break down the game at TCU | The Buffalo Stampede: Colorado Footbal
Sunday, October 05
FB at TCU postgame presser
Sunday, October 05
Mark Johnson & Gary Barnett break down the game vs. BYU | The Buffalo Stampede: Colorado Football
Sunday, September 28